Michael Parsons

Dr. Parsons completed his undergraduate medical education at Memorial University (2004). This was followed by Family Medicine residency (2006) and Special Competence in Emergency Medicine (2007). Since that time, he has been a full-time ER physician at the Health Sciences Centre and St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital sites in St. John's, NL. He has additional past clinical experience in occupational medicine, pre-hospital medical support, and general practice locums.

Dr. Parsons served as past Academic Chair of Emergency Medicine (2018-25), and Interim Chair prior to this (2017-18). He was CCFP(EM) assistant program director (2013-2021), and EM Clinical Discipline Coordinator (2017-18). Leadership training is noted below. He is currently an elected council member with the CPSNL.

Primary teaching interests include simulation, PoCUS, procedural skills training, toxicology, ACLS, and ECG/ cardiology. He is a member of the CAEP Education Scholarship, and CPD committees. Dr. Parsons has earned PoCUS Master Instructor status (2012), with advanced PoCUS training in 2023. He has served as the EM simulation training co-lead (2012- ), and the CCFP(EM) R3 academic half-day coordinator (2012-18).

Research publications have been in the areas of simulation/ telesimulation, geriatrics, PoCUS, 3D-printing, and drug-impaired driving. He has served as a reviewer for several journals, and as a mentor for the scholarly projects of numerous undergraduate and postgraduate (EM, FM) students. Dr. Parsons has been co-author on: 2 book chapters, 27 articles, 2 summary documents, 32 abstracts/posters, in addition to ongoing work. He has had 120K funding + 7 student Summer Undergraduate Research Awards (SURA).

Awards

2025  Discipline of EM Chair’s Award
2016  Emerging Investigator Award, RCPSC Simulation Summit
2012  Medical Education Scholarship Center (MESC) Forum- research presentation award- first runner-up

Additional leadership training

2024- 25                      Advanced Physician Management and Leadership Program (APMLP)
Sept 2024                    Clinical Discipline Chairs orientation/ refresher
June 2024                    Memorial University- NLHS Leadership Retreat
Nov 2023                    Clinical Discipline Chairs Retreat
Nov 2021                    Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) Virtual Leadership Series: ED leadership- Inclusion, Equity and Resiliency
Sept 2021                    EPIC leadership on every shift, CAEP National Grand Rounds
June 2021                    CAEP Academic Leadership Symposium
April 2021                   CAEP Virtual Leadership Series: Leadership from behind the face shield
Feb 2021                     Physician Management Leadership Program (PMLP)

PUBLICATIONS

Book Chapters

Jewer J, Dubrowski A, Dunne C, Hoover K, Smith A, Parsons M. 2019 “Piloting a mobile-tele-simulation unit to train rural and remote emergency health care providers” in “Delivering Superior Health and Wellness Management with IoT and Analytics”.  Eds: Wickramasinghe N, and Bodendorf F. Springer Nature, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17347-0

Jong M, Wilson M, Renouf T, Parsons M. Point-of-Care Testing with Ultrasound. In: A Practical Guide to Point-of-Care Testing. (2016): Ch 35, p 431-38. Shephard M (ed.): CSIRO Publishing, Clayton: AUS. ISBN: 9781486305209. https://www.publishing.csiro.au/book/7500/#details

Summary Reports

Brubacher JR, Chan H, Erdelyi S, Simmons S, Atkinson P, Clarke D, Horwood C, Magee K, Parsons M and the National Drug Driving Research Group. The 2025 Atlantic Provinces Drug Driving Study Report. Vancouver, BC. Department of Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia. https://med-fom-rsph.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2025/10/ndds_2025_atlantic-final.pdf

Brubacher JR, Chan H, Erdelyi S, Simmons S, and the National Drug Driving Research Group. The 2024 National Drug Driving Study Report. Vancouver, BC. Department of Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia. https://med-fom-rsph.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2025/10/NDD_2025_national-final.pdf  

Articles

Furlong K, Price R, Brannan V, Devasahayam AJ, Mercer S, Yi Y, Rogers P, Babb K, Parsons MH (Jan 2026). Comparing older adults assigned a low-acuity triage score to their younger counterparts in the emergency department: a review of patient characteristics and outcomes. Cureus 18(1): e102649.  https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.102649

Axel Benhamed, Marcel Emond, MD, MSc; Shannon Erdelyi, MSc; Eric Mercier, MD, MSc; Laurence Larouche, MD; Herbert Chan, PhD; Pierre-Gilles Blanchard, MD, PhD; Raoul Daoust, MD, MSc; Christian Vaillancourt, MD, MSc; Brian H Rowe, MD, MSc; Jacques S Lee, MD; Paul Atkinson, MD; Philip Davis, MD, MSc; David B. Clarke, MDCM, PhD; John Taylor, MD; Andrew Macpherson, MD; Michael Parsons, MD; Ian Wishart, MD; Kirk Magee, MD; Jagadish Rao, MD, MSc; Jeffrey R. Brubacher, MD, MSc. The prevalence of benzodiazepines and other hypnotics and their impact on injury severity among older adult drivers involved in motor vehicle collisions: a multicenter retrospective cohort study. Journal of Safety Research 94 (2025) 294-300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2025.06.026

Jacques QR, Thorburn E, Perry J, Bradbury-Squires D, Mercer S, Parsons M, Furlong K. (July 2025). Geriatric-friendliness in emergency departments in Newfoundland and Labrador. Practice Points (12) 57-59. Link

Jacques Q, Thorburn E, Perry J, Bradbury-Squires D, Mercer S, Parsons M, Furlong K. (2025). Examining the geriatric-friendliness of emergency departments in the Canadian province with the oldest population. Can J Emerg Med, 27, 820-29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43678-025-00974-7

Jeffrey R. Brubacher, MD; Shannon Erdelyi, MSc; Herbert Chan, PhD; Sarah Simmons, PhD; Paul Atkinson, MD; Floyd Besserer, MD; David B. Clarke, MD; Phil Davis, MD; Raoul Daoust, MD; Marcel .mond, MD; Jeff Eppler, MD; Jacques S. Lee, MD; Andrew MacPherson, MD; Kirk Magee, MD; Eric Mercier, MD; Robert Ohle, MD; Mike Parsons, MD; Jagadish Rao, MD; Brian H. Rowe, MD; John Taylor, MD; Christian Vaillancourt, MD; Ian Wishart, MD. Prevalence of impairing substance use in injured drivers. JAMA Network Open. 2025; 8(4): e256379. https://doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.6379   

Andani R, Jacques Q, Yi Y, Jelic T, Micks T, Bradbury-Squires D, Stone-McLean J, Parsons M, Sheppard G. Rural Canadian emergency care providers’ experiences using Point-of-Care Ultrasound. CJEM. 2025; 27: 191-197.    https://doi.org/10.1007/s43678-024-00829-7

Thornhill KW, Jewer J, Rhodes Q, McCarthy R, Parsons MH. Telesimulation in simulation-based medical education for high-acuity low-occurrence procedures and clinical encounters for physicians and medical trainees in Emergency Medicine: Protocol for a systematic review. JMIR Res Protoc. 2025; 14 : e53565. https://doi.org/10.2196/53565  

Furlong KR, O’Donnell K, Farrell A, Mercer S, Norman P, Parsons M, Patey C. Older adults, the ‘social admission,’ and non-specific complaints in the emergency department: Protocol for a scoping review. JMIR Res Protoc. 2023 Mar 15; 12, e38246. https://doi.org/10.2196/38246  

Furlong K, Mercer S, Parsons M. (May 2023). Under-triage of older adults with a lower-acuity triage score in the Emergency Department. Practice Points (10) 79-80. Link

Brannan V, Dunne CL, Dubrowski A, Parsons MH. Development of a novel 3D- printed multifunctional thorax model simulator for the simulation-based training of tube thoracostomy. CJEM. 2021 Jul; 23(4): 547-550. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43678-021-00102-1 PMID: 33783760

Garland C, Wilson J A, Parsons MH, et al. (December 02, 2019) The Application of Low-fidelity Chest Tube Insertion Using Remote Tele-simulation in Training Healthcare Professionals. Cureus 11(12): e6273. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.6273

Jewer J, Parsons MH, Dunne C, Smith A, Dubrowski A. Evaluation of mobile tele-simulation unit to train rural and remote practitioners on high-acuity low-occurrence procedures: Pilot randomized controlled trial. J Med Internet Res (JMIR) 2019; 21(8). https://doi.org/10.2196/14587 PMID: 31389340

Whalen D, Dunne C, Dubrowski A, Mohamed L, Parsons MH. (February 01, 2019) Diagnosis and Management of an Inferior ST-elevation Myocardial Infarction: A Simulation Scenario. Cureus 11(2): e3995. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.3995    

Smith A, Parsons M, Renouf T, Boyd S, Rogers P. (2019) A mixed-methods evaluation of a multidisciplinary Point of Care Ultrasound program. Medical Teacher, 41:2, 223-28, https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2018.1461202

Williams K, Dunne C, Parsons MH (January 17, 2019) Emergency Department Presentation of a Patient with a Severe Upper Gastrointestinal Bleed: A Simulation Case for Training Emergency Medicine Residents. Cureus 11(1): e3908. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.3908 PMID: 30931181

Smith A, Addison R, Rogers P, Stone-McLean J, Hoover K, Boyd S, Pollard M, Dubrowski A, Parsons M. Remote mentoring of point of care ultrasound skills to inexperienced operators using Multiple Telemedicine Platforms- is a cell phone good enough? Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine 2018 Mar 25 https://doi.org/10.1002/jum.14609

Dunne CL, Parsons M. Management of cold water-induced hypothermia: A simulation scenario for Layperson training delivered via mobile tele-simulation unit. Cureus 2017 Dec; 9(12): e1990. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.1990  

Wang S, Parsons M, Stone-McLean J, Rogers P, Boyd S, Hoover K, Meruvia-Pastor O, Gong M, Smith A. Augmented Reality as a Telemedicine Platform for Remote Procedural Training. Sensors 2017 Oct 10; 17(10), 2294; https://doi.org/10.3390/s17102294  

Doucet G, Ryan S, Bartellas M, Parsons M, Dubrowski A, Renouf T. Modeling and Manufacturing of a 3D-Printed Trachea for Cricothyroidotomy Simulation. Cureus 2017 Aug; 9(8): e1575. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.1575  

Renouf T, Parsons M, Francis L, et al. Emergency management of tension pneumothorax for health professionals on remote Cat Island Bahamas. Cureus 2017 June; 9(6): e1390. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.1390  

Addison R, Skinner T, Zhou F, Parsons M. Diabetic ketoacidosis: An emergency medicine simulation scenario. Cureus 2017 May; 9(5): e1286. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.1286

Micks T, Smith A, Parsons M, Locke T, Rogers P. Point of Care Ultrasonography Training for Rural Family Medicine Residents – it’s time has arrived. CJRM 2016 Winter; 21(1): 28-9. 

Parsons M, Murphy J, Alani S, et al. Thermal Burns and Smoke Inhalation: A Simulation Session. Cureus 2015 Oct; 7(10): e360. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.360

Dubrowski A, Renouf T, Smith A, Alani S, Parsons M, Hearn C, Brown R. A comparison of clinical skills performance on both stationary and moving platforms. 13th International Symposium on Maritime Health, Bergen June 23, 2015.

Angus K, Parsons M, Cheeseman N et al. Asthma Exacerbation: An Emergency Medicine Simulation Scenario. Cureus 2015 Mar; 7(3): e258. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.258

Black H, Renouf T, Parsons M, Rogers P, Dubrowski A. Pregnancy and Privacy in an Emergency Department: A Simulation Session. Cureus 2014 Oct; 6(10): e216. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.216  

Angus K, Parsons M, Dubrowski A. Heat Stroke: Emergency Medicine Simulation Scenario. Cureus 2014 May; 6(5): e178. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.178

Online

Rogers P, Parsons M, Renouf T, Alani S, Dubrowski A. (March 20, 2015). The effectiveness of direct and timely feedback by faculty to learners is often challenged by faculty cognitive biases, time constraints and concerns about harming their relationship with the learner. CAEP Great Evidence in Medical education Summary (GEMeS) series. http://caep.ca/CAEPGEMeS#201503GEMeS.

Renouf T, Parsons, M, Rogers P, Alani S, Dubrowski, A. (March 20, 2015). Tuckamore Innovation. CAEP Feature Education Innovations (FEI). CAEP. Retrieved from http://caep.ca/FeatureEducationInnovations#2015MarFEI

Abstracts/ poster presentations

Andani R, Jacques Q, Yi Y, Jelic T, Micks T, Bradbury-Squires D, Stone-McLean J, Parsons M, Sheppard G. Rural Canadian emergency care providers’ experiences using Point-of-Care Ultrasound. Poster #543. Sept 2024- ACEP conference. Las Vegas, NV.

Furlong K, O’Donnell K, O’Dea M, Farrell A, Mercer S, Norman P, Parsons M, Patey C. Older adults, the ‘social admission,’ and non-specific complaints in the emergency department: a scoping review. Poster MP22. CAEP conference. Saskatoon, SK. CJEM (2024) 26: S1-S89.

Andani R, Sheppard G, Jacques Q, Yi Y, Micks T, Jelic T, Stone-McLean J, Bradbury-Squires D, Parsons M. Rural and Remote Canadian emergency medicine physicians’ experiences using Point-of-Care Ultrasound. Poster MP03. CAEP conference. Saskatoon, SK. CJEM (2024) 26: S1-S89. 

Thorburn E, Perry J, Bradbury-Squires D, Jacques, QR, Parsons M, Mercer S, Furlong K. How ‘geriatric friendly’ are emergency departments in Newfoundland and Labrador? Poster LO28. CAEP conference. Toronto, ON. CJEM (2023) 25: S1-S108.

Thorburn E, Perry J, Bradbury-Squires D, Jacques, QR, Parsons M, Mercer S, Furlong K. How ‘geriatric friendly’ are emergency departments in Newfoundland and Labrador? Poster. April 2023. SRPC Rural and Remote Medicine conference. Niagra Falls, ON.

Furlong K, Price R, Brannan V, Devasahayam A, Coffin R, Mercer S, Babb K, Rogers P, Parsons M. Older adults assigned a ‘low-acuity’ triage score: A description of patient characteristics and outcomes in St. John’s, NL. Poster P61. CAEP Conference. Quebec City, QC. CJEM (2022) 24 (Suppl 1): S1-S100.

Furlong K, Price R, Brannan V, Mercer S, Parsons M. Older adults assigned a ‘low-acuity’ triage score: A description of patient characteristics and outcomes in St. John’s, NL. April 2022. SRPC Rural and Remote Medicine Conference. Ottawa, ON. Tie for top student poster prize.

Price R, Furlong K, Brannan V, Parsons M, Devasahayam A, Coffin R, Babb K, Rogers P, Mercer S. Older adults assigned a ‘low-acuity’ triage score: A description of patient characteristics and outcomes in St. John’s, NL. Canadian Geriatrics Society (CGS). Oral Presentation (resident). April 2022.

McCarthy R, Bradbury-Squires D, Jewer J, Parsons M. Simulation-based medical education (SBME) via virtual platforms: works-in-progress. Family Medicine Forum (FMF). Nov 2021.

Brannan V, Dunne C, Dubrowski A, Parsons M. Development and validation of a novel three-dimensional printed thorax model simulator for the simulation-based training of tube thoracostomy. Top 7 Education Innovation Posters. June 2020. CAEP conference, MP28. Ottawa, ON.

Dunne C, Smith P, Lowe A, Parsons M. From water wings to webcams: exploring the use of distance education technology to improve lifesaving training opportunities for rural communities. October 2019. World Conference on Drowning Prevention (WCDP). Durban, South Africa.

Dunne C, Chalker J, Bursey K, Parsons M. The iterative evaluation and development of a core and high-acuity low-occurrence simulation-based procedures training program for emergency medicine trainees. May 2019. CAEP conference, P039. Halifax, NS.

Smith S, Bursey K, Parsons M. A needs assessment to guide the development of multidisciplinary simulation-based modules relevant to emergency department nurses in Newfoundland and Labrador. May 2019. CAEP conference, P100. Halifax, NS.

Dunne C, Parsons M. A procedural-skills needs assessment targeting physicians providing emergency department coverage in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. May 2019. CAEP conference, P038. Halifax, NS.

Brannan V, Dubrowski A, Dunne C, Parsons M. Exploring the utility of a 3D-printed multifunctional thorax model in the simulation-based training of tube thoracostomy. Poster presentation. SIMTEC conference, Nov 29&30 2018. St. John’s, NL

Dunne C, Jewer J, Parsons M. Application of the Delphi method to refine key components in the iterative development of a mobile tele-simulation unit (MTU). May 2018. CAEP conference, P039. Calgary, AB. Available at: Cureus: Archives of Scholarship in Simulation and Educational Techniques- Annual Collections. https://www.cureus.com/posters/1373

Dunne C, Hansen D, Parsons M. Emergency Medicine Interest Group: Evaluation of a student led organization at Memorial University. May 2018. CAEP conference, P038. Calgary, AB. Available at: Cureus: Archives of Scholarship in Simulation and Educational Techniques- Annual Collections. https://www.cureus.com/posters/1372

Dunne C, Jewer J, Dubrowski A, Parsons M. The iterative development and evaluation of a mobile tele-simulation unity by a multidisciplinary team using a mixed-methods approach: A summary of lessons learned. Feb 2018. MUN Medical Student Forum.

Dunne C, Parsons M. Development of a training module for the management of immersion-induced hypothermia delivered via a mobile tele-simulation unit. World Conference on Drowning Prevention. October 2017. Vancouver, BC. Available at: Cureus: Archives of Scholarship in Simulation and Educational Techniques- Annual Collections. https://www.cureus.com/posters/1296

Smith A, Addison R, Rogers P, Stone-McLean J, Hoover K, Boyd S, Pollard M, Dubrowski A, Parsons M. Remote training of point of care ultrasound skills- is a cell-phone ‘good enough’? 5^th World Congress Ultrasound in Medical Education. October 2017. Montreal, QC.

Wang S, Parsons M, Stone-McLean J, Rogers P, Boyd S, Hoover K, Meruvia-Pastor O, Gong M, Smith A. Augmented Reality as a Telemedicine Platform for Remote Procedural Training. 5^th World Congress Ultrasound in Medical Education. October 2017. Montreal, QC.

Parsons MH, Smith A, Hoover KJ, Jewer J, Noseworthy S, Pollard M, Dunne C, Dubrowski A. Iterative prototype development of a mobile tele-simulation unit for remote training: An Update. CAEP conference, P100. June 2017. Whistler, BC. Available at: Cureus: Archives of Scholarship in Simulation and Educational Techniques- Annual Collections. http://www.cureus.com/posters/1232

Parsons M, Dunne C, Rogers P. Development and ongoing evaluation of procedural skills instruction sessions for core low-frequency high-stakes EM procedures. MESC conference, June 2017. Memorial University, St. John’s, NL. Available at: Cureus: Archives of Scholarship in Simulation and Educational Techniques- Annual Collections. http://www.cureus.com/posters/1230

Dunne C, Parsons M. A procedural skills training needs assessment for rural EM physicians in NL and perceptions on the use of remote tele-simulation to bridge the gap. MESC conference, June 2017. Memorial University, St. John’s, NL. Available at: Cureus: Archives of Scholarship in Simulation and Educational Techniques- Annual Collections. http://www.cureus.com/posters/1228

Smith S, Pollard M, Parsons M. A needs assessment to guide the development of multidisciplinary simulation-based modules relevant to emergency department nurses in NL. MESC conference, June 2017. Memorial University, St. John’s, NL. Available at: Cureus: Archives of Scholarship in Simulation and Educational Techniques- Annual Collections. http://www.cureus.com/posters/1236

Parsons M, Smith A, Rogers P, Hoover K, Pollard M, Dubrowski A. Outcomes of Prototype Development Cycle for a Mobile simulation lab with acute care telemedicine support- Work in Progress. 17^th International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH Jan 2017), Orlando, FL. Poster & Oral Presentation. 

Parsons M, Pollard M. The iterative design and revision of an emergency medicine simulation book to meet the needs of a broader simulation-based medical education audience. RCPSC Simulation Summit, October 2016, St. John’s, NL. Available at: Cureus: Archives of Scholarship in Simulation and Educational Techniques- Annual Collections 2016. http://www.cureus.com/posters/1128

Parsons MH, Wadden K, Pollard M, Dubrowski A, Smith A. Development and evaluation of a mobile simulation lab with acute care telemedicine support. CAEP conference, P098. June 2016. Quebec City, QC. Available at: Cureus: Archives of Scholarship in Simulation and Educational Techniques- Annual Collections 2016. http://www.cureus.com/posters/1076

Parsons M. Development and qualitative evaluation of an emergency medicine simulation book to facilitate the use of simulation for our local EM program. CAEP conference, P099. June 2016. Quebec City, QC. Available at: Cureus: Archives of Scholarship in Simulation and Educational Techniques- Annual Collections 2016. http://www.cureus.com/posters/1055

Parsons M, Wadden K, Pollard M, Dubrowski A, Smith A. Mobile Simulation Lab With Acute Care Tele-medicine Support. MESC conference, Dec 2015. Memorial University, St. John’s, NL. Available at: Cureus: Archives of Scholarship in Simulation and Educational Techniques- Annual Collections 2016. http://www.cureus.com/posters/1118

Parsons, M. Development of an Emergency Medicine Simulation Book. MESC conference, Dec 2015. Memorial University, St. John’s, NL. Available at: Cureus: Archives of Scholarship in Simulation and Educational Techniques- Annual Collections 2016. http://www.cureus.com/posters/1075

Parsons M, Dubrowski A, Alani S, Renouf T. Low-Fidelity Simulation for remote and low-resourced settings: A cricothyroidotomy (and bougie assisted) model. MESC conference, Dec 2015. Memorial University, St. John’s, NL. Available at: Cureus: Archives of Scholarship in Simulation and Educational Techniques- Annual Collections 2016. http://www.cureus.com/posters/1129